Study 3:
Types and Shadows: Part II

Her symbol was the moon, just as it was for the false goddesses like Isis and Diana. Semiramis’ wicked practices promoted “baby sacrifices,” a thing we do today through “abortion.” She instituted the practice of “celibacy” for her priests, foreshadowing the same practice of future Catholicism. She invented death by “crucifixion” and establishing the “crucifix” as an occult symbol which was used in Babylon and Egypt, and later the modern Roman Church. And Alexander Hislop tells us the regular priests wore “black robes,” which was the color of Satanism and the occult. And the list goes on as we, just briefly, discuss only a few of such topics; for we shall not take neither the time nor space to discuss other Pagan worship practices, such as the lighting of candles, which represent the flames of the sun gods; baptismal sprinkling, as practiced in the Babylon religion; the “Rosary” and its Pagan origin; and other such things. So to begin, let’s start out with the number one man of Roman Catholicism today, the Pope.

The Roman Pontiff

Nimrod, who claimed to be a High Priest, was supposedly the “Bridge” between this life and the life to come. One of his many titles by which he was known was “Pontiff,” or “Pontifex Maximus,” meaning, “one who rules over other gods.” Later on, other Pagan religions adopted the title. Another of Nimrod’s titles was that of “Pater Patrum” (as rendered in Latin), or “Papa,” one of the meanings being, “Father.” This just may be what Jesus was referring to when He said, “And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven” (Matt. 23:9), addressing the custom of some who called various Pagan high priests, father.

The Mithraic high priest’s also took the title of Pater Patrum, which was later adopted by early Catholic Bishops in Rome, and which became simply, Papa, or Pope (father). Although Constantine was awarded the title of Pontifex Maximus, it was Siricius (AD 384-399) who first called himself Pontifex Maximus in the modern church. Yet, some historians trace the titles back to Gregory the First, in the sixth-century, as being the first Christian bishop on record who used the titles for himself. Whatever the case, by these times, the Roman Catholic Church – the new Pagan Roman Empire with a new Christian face – had started to take shape.

Augustine (AD 354-430), whose father was a pagan and who, himself, was converted from the eastern religion of Manichaeanism, wrote a work called The City of God. In this book Augustine made it clear that the Pope is intended to be the ruler of the world. But newer versions of Augustine’s work have removed this information. Could it be to keep it from the rest of the world?

The Pope and His Keys
The ancient god, Janus, was depicted with a double-faced head; one looks forward, the other behind, symbolizing the transition from past to future. His two faces originally represented, among other things, the sun and the moon. (Shown Left.)

Being the god of gates, doors and hinges, Janus was usually shown with a KEY. He was the Roman god of doorways and archways. He was also called Pastulcius, and Clusius, “the opener and the shutter.” Ceremonial gateways were called jani, which gateways were used for auspicious entrances or exits. And holding the “key,” Janus was also the keeper of the king’s treasury.

Janus was a deity of all beginnings, after whom the month of January is named; January coming from janua, meaning “gate,” with the Festival of Janus, called the Agonium, taking place on January 9. Because of this, he was also known as the figure representing time because he could see into the past with one face and into the future with the other. Hence, Janus was worshiped not only at the New Year but at the beginnings of the harvest and planting times, as well as marriages, births and other occasions that introduced change. The worship of Janus dates back to the earliest years of Rome, and the two-faced image of Janus was often depicted on coins of the Roman Republic. (Shown Right.)

Now Cybele was the Latin name of an ancient goddess. She was known to the Greeks as Rhea, the mother of the Olympian gods. Cybele was the goddess of nature, fertility, and of fortifications. She was worshiped in Rome as the Great Mother of the Gods. She bore a “key” like Janus, which was the key to the earth and opened the gates of the invisible world. Similarly, Janus opens the door of the sky and releases the dawn. It was these two gods, Janus and Cybele, that had the power of heaven and earth. The pagan Roman priesthood (before the birth of Jesus Christ) had a sovereign “pontiff” who held the “keys.”

Janus bore a key, and Cybele bore a key; and these are the two keys that the modern Pope “emblazons” on his arms as the ensigns (at right) of his so-called spiritual authority. The Pope pretends to be the successor of Peter, that great disciple of Christ; the same Peter to whom the Lord exclusively committed the keys of the Heavenly Kingdom. However, the “keys” that the Pope claims were once only the keys of “a” Peter, and not Peter the fisherman of Galilee. This other “Peter” with the keys was well known to the Pagans of the Chaldean Mysteries. The “title” of the priest who explained the Mysteries was known as “Peter,” meaning, “the interpreter.” So, the term “Peter” is not only known as the name of an individual, but it is also a “title” given to a Pagan priest who “interprets mysteries.”

A prime example of this can be found in one, Simon Magus, who occupied the highest place in the Pagan priesthood of Rome; he too, was known as “Simon Peter,” or just “Peter.” This same Simon is referred to in Acts 8. There we read: “But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one: To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God. And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.” (Acts 8:9-10.)

But after seeing the miracles that Philip performed, Simon feigned belief and was baptized. And when he witnessed what miracles Peter and John performed, Simon wanted to purchase this power with money; whereupon Peter said to Simon, “Thy money perish with theee, because thou has thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money ... thy heart is not right in the sight of God ... I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.” (See vv. 18-23.) Profane history tells us that it was this same Simon Peter who, after being rejected by the Apostle Peter, traveled to Rome and became the same Simon Magus spoken of earlier. It is interesting to note that the word, “magus,” means, “magician.”

Therefore, the term, “Peter,” being a Pagan title for those who interpret mysteries, should not be confused with the Apostle Peter, although this is exactly what the Roman church wants everyone to believe. Thus, we may see how the keys of Janus and Cybele would come to be known as the “keys of Peter,” the “interpreter of Mysteries,” such as in, “Mystery Babylon.”

The Pope and His Mitre Hat
What of that strange looking hat atop the head of the Pope? From the side it looks like a fish with its mouth open. This is reminiscent of the fish god, “Dagon,” which was — you guessed it — another name for Nimrod. Now some of these ancient gods get a little confusing as various nations picked up on them and incorporated some into their own worship.

Janus, for example, the two-headed god who had lived in two worlds, and whose key the pope usurped, was the Babylonian divinity, Dagon, as well as a god of the Philistines and the Phoenicians. Dagon, the fish god, represented that deity who had lived in the waters of the great flood. The idols of Dagon shows him in part human form, and part fish (see ancient picture at RIGHT).

As the Pope bears the key of Janus, so the two-horned mitre, which the Pope wears when he sits on the high altar at Rome and receives the Cardinals, is the mitre worn by Dagon, the fish-god of the Philistines and Babylonians. The excavations of Nineveh have fairly proved that Dagon was represented with such a hat. Alexander Hislop stated that,

“There were two ways in which Dagon was anciently represented. The one was when he was depicted as half-man half-fish; the upper part being entirely human, the under part ending in the tail of a fish. The other was, when, to use the words of Layard, ‘the head of the fish formed a mitre above that of the man, while its scaly, fan-like tail fell as a cloak behind, leaving the human limbs and feet exposed,’ ... and no one who examines his mitre, and compares it with the Pope’s ... can doubt for a moment that from that, and no other source, has the pontifical mitre been derived. The gaping jaws of the fish surmounting the head of the man at Nineveh are the unmistakable counterpart of the horns of the Pope’s mitre at Rome.” (TTB, pp. 214-215.)

We find recorded in 1 Samuel, Chapter 5, that the Philistines captured the Ark of God, and brought it to their city and placed it in the temple of Dagon. The motive which caused the Philistines to set up the ark in the temple was because it was customary to dedicate the spoils taken from an enemy to their own gods. It was, no doubt, to insult the God of Israel and His people that they placed His ark in the temple of Dagon. From Chapter 5 we read: “When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon.” Of course this did not set well with the Lord, so He smote the image of Dagon, the people, the city and the coasts thereof. (See 1 Sam. 5:1-9.)

It is claimed that Semarimus, like the fishes, somehow survived the great flood, and that her name is a Hellenized form of the Sumerian name “Sammur-amat,” meaning, “gift of the sea.” Her Babylonian High Priest wore a fish-mitre hat. As stated, we still see this fish-looking hat worn by the Pope today. It’s in the shape of the open mouth of a fish. Notice any similarities between the picture at UPPER-RIGHT of the old Babylonian fish god, Dagon, and the picture AT LEFT of Pope John Paul II?

Other Pagan and Popeish Ornamentations
The stone carving, or stele, of King Ashur-nasir-pal II, shows various articles of clothing and ornamentation. At RIGHT, first, notice what is called a “Pallium,” which is a white sash or mantle worn over the shoulders. The Pope wears a similar Pallium worn over the shoulders, as can be seen in the picture of Popes John XXIII (below left) and Pope Benedict XVI (below right). Benedict wears a different style of Pallium that hangs from his shoulders and has red crosses and several sun symbols around the edge.

Note also, that beneath the collars around the necks on both the figure in the stele and Benedict XVI, there hangs an amulet in the shape of an “X”, or cross; and on the lower hand of King Ashur-nasir-pal II, in the stele, can be seen the pagan sunburst symbol, which can also be seen on the glove of Pope John XXIII.

In the carved stele of the King is depicted strips of cloth called lappets, hanging from the rear of the headgear. These lappets are also present on the Papal Mitre (discussed above), and the three-tiered Tiara worn by Pope John XXIII; the lappets are partially visible hanging AT LEFT from his Tiara as shown. Also notice the similarity of both the headgear and lappets on King Ashur-nasir-pal II and that of Pope John XXIII.
Are all of these things really a coincidence?

Popeish Contrasts
A contrast was compiled, by a Professor Arthur Noble, between Jesus Christ and the Pope.
(http://www.ianpaisley.org/article.asp?ArtKey=pope)
He said that, “Affixed to a column at the corner of the Orsini Palace in Rome at the beginning of the sixteenth century was the following comparison between Christ and the Pope:

1. Christ said: “My kingdom is not of this world.” The Pope conquers cities by force.
2. Christ had a crown of thorns. The Pope wears a triple diadem.
3. Christ washed the feet of his disciples. The Pope has his kissed by kings.
4. Christ paid tribute. The Pope takes it.
5. Christ fed the sheep. The Pope shears them for his own profit.
6. Christ was poor. The Pope wishes to be master of the world.
7. Christ carried on His shoulders the cross. The Pope is carried on the shoulders of his servants in liveries of gold.
8. Christ despised riches. The Pope has no other passion than for gold.
9. Christ drove out the merchants from the temple. The Pope welcomes them.
10. Christ preached peace. The Pope is the torch of war.
11. Christ was meekness. The Pope is pride personified.
12. Christ promulgated laws that the Pope tramples underfoot.

The following is a quote from page 205 of Jeremiah J. Crowley’s work, Romanism. A Menace to the Nation: “Christ knew no sin. Scores of the self-styled ‘Vicars of Christ’ –– the professing ‘Holy Fathers’ –– were so depraved and base that they left a history of adultery, bribery, debauchery, drunkenness, fornication, incest, murder, perversion, rape, seduction, simony, sodomy, treachery and whoredom. After a visit to Rome, the great Italian poet Dante described the Vatican as a “sewer of corruption.” And quoted from Ralph Woodrow: Babylon. Mystery Religion, p. 94f, one can read:

“Christ told his followers to keep the commandments. The Popes have methodically broken them all. Instead of practising ‘Thou shall not kill,’ Innocent III (1198-1216) not only surpassed all his predecessors in killing, but founded the most devilish institution in history –– the Inquisition, which for over five hundred years was used by his successors to maintain their power against those who did not agree with the teachings of the Romish Church. It is estimated that that Church, throughout history, has been responsible for the wilful slaughter of over 100 million people.

“Christ preached: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers.’ Pope Julius II (1503-13) had a passion for war bordering on frenzy. His pontificate was a perpetual war, and Europe knew no peace during the period of his life. One may easily imagine the state of the Church under a Vicar of Christ who spent his time in a camp, amidst the clash of arms, and who knew no other glory than that procured in war or the pillage of a town. His successors have faithfully carried on the belligerent tradition, supporting dictators and stirring up strife to achieve their corrupt aims.

“Non-Roman-Catholic countries are being brainwashed today into believing that the nature and aims of the Roman Pontiff and his Church are not what they used to be; but Rome is ever and everywhere semper eadem, always the same. As she was throughout past centuries, so she remains today, except that she is now playing politics more astutely than she was previously.

“So it is that Mangasarian, warning of Rome’s thirst for American blood, states the following as ‘the verdict of history’”:

1. Where the priests are free, the people are slaves!
2. Where the priests are rich, the people are poor!
3. Where the priests teach, the people are ignorant!
4. Where the priests prosper, progress is paralysed!
5. Where the priests lead, they lead into misery, bondage, poverty, superstition, persecution – ruin!

Today, as ever before, the same so-called “Vicar of Christ,” “King of Heaven, Earth, and Hell,” while claiming to represent the lowly and humble Nazarene, still wears a Triple Crown and robes, both bedecked with resplendent gold and priceless jewels! As one author well said, “Christ had not whereon to lay His head. The Pope dwells in a Palace of four thousand rooms! What a mockery! What a delusion! What a snare is Popery!”

College of Cardinals

The goddess Cybele was also worshiped as “Cardea,” or “Cardo,” from which the name “Cardinal” is derived, being named for her. The term Cardo means a hinge. Remember, Janus, was the god of doors and hinges, and both he and she held keys. Nimrod had a council of 12 priests to assist him in the temporal and political affairs of running his empire; these, too, were called “Cardinals,” who wore scarlet and purple robes, as the modern Cardinals do today, as can be seen by Cardinal Edward Cassiday shown at right. Of the Cardinals today, Hislip wrote:

“To enable the pope ... to rise to the full plenitude of power which he now asserts, the co-operation of others was needed. When his power increased, when his dominion extended, and expecially after he became a temporal sovereign, the key of Janus became too heavy for his single hand — he needed some to share with him the power of the ‘hinge.’ Hence his privy councillors, his high functionaries of state, who were associated with him in the government of the Church and world, got the now well-known title of ‘Cardinals’ — the priests of the ‘hinge.’” (TTB, p. 211.)

Hislop points out that, “From the Pope downwards, all can be shown to be now radically Babylonian. The College of Cardinals, with the Pope at its head, is just the counterpart of the Pagan College of Pontiffs, with its “Pontifex Maximus,” or “Sovereign Pontiff,” which had existed in Rome from the earliest times, and which is known to have been framed on the model of the grand original Council of Pontiffs at Babylon.” (TTB, p. 206.)

Priests of Catholicism

Alexander Hislop stated, “If the head be corrupt, so also must be the members. If the Pope be essentially Pagan, what else can be the character of his clergy? If they derive their orders from a radically corrupted source, these orders must partake of the corruption of the source from which they flow.” (TTB, p. 219.) With this said, I want to make it perfectly clear that I am not trying to denigrate or demean each and every Priest of the Roman Catholic faith. There are many fine and good Priests who do a very righteous work and whose hearts and motives, I am sure, are honorable before God and man, but who are ignorant of past history. And although there are, among these good Priests, those who are not so honorable, I do not condemn the whole of them, for that is God’s judgment. Accordingly, what is mentioned here is designed only for information and historical perspective, not to degrade those of pure hearts.

So getting on with our discussion, it should be obvious from the forgoing presentations that the term “Priest” extends clear back to the old Babylonian religion of Nimrod and Semiramis; the title being actually usurped from the true Priesthood of the one true God. Whereas the priest appointed of God, those who officiated in that office among the House of Israel and who wore “white” robes, the priest of old Babylon wore “black” robes — the color of Satanism and the Luciferin occult. This office is so well known that we will not discuss any more of it, other than that which has already been stated and that which will shortly be covered.

Celibacy of the Priesthood
It was Semiramis who first developed a system of an unmarried “celibate Priesthood” which would be devoted to her and her religion. Later, Mithraism and early Catholicism both considered abstinence, celibacy, and self-control to be among their highest virtues. However, one of the evils inherent in celibacy is that of homosexual behavior. Much of this behavior did occur, but the public allowed this immorality to continue to keep the priests away from their wives and daughters. To this day, history attests to the fact that a celibate priesthood has proven to be a drawing net to homosexuals, as the news reports much mischief among modern Catholic Priests today.

Hislop wrote, concerning celibacy: “The effects of its introduction were most disastrous. The records of all nations where priestly celibacy has been introduced have proved that, instead of ministering to the purity of those condemned to it, it has only plunged them in the deepest pollution.” (TTB, p. 220.) Like many other practices and dogmas within Roman Catholicism, the practice of celibacy receives no authority from Holy Writ.

The Confessional
The popular custom of “confession,” among practicing Catholics, is known as “auricular” confession, meaning oral confession. The Priests, of the old Babylon religion, had control over the worshipers because Semiramis compelled the people to confess to a Babylonian Priest at least once a year and to do penance according to the degree of the sins committed. Sins were categorized by their seriousness as either “mortal” (unforgivable or nearly so) or “venial” (forgivable). Of course, none of this was in the Bible, either.

The original purpose of the confessional was to keep tabs on any rebellion or uprising in the empire. This was effective because people were compelled to confess every sin to the priest, whether they be moral, ethical, or whatever, and omission of any sin could forfeit salvation. The problem of a celibate priesthood hearing the intimate private sexual confessions of married and single women would eventually lead to trouble as one would imagine; and it often did.

A former Priest, the late Father Charles Chiniquy, tells in his book, The Priest, the Woman, and the Confessional, that if married men and fathers knew the intimate questions that were asked of the wives and their daughters in the confessional booths, they would run the priests and their confessional booths out of town. So, as stated above, homosexual behavior was tolerated to keep the priests away from wives and daughters. Chiniquy said in his book that, “the confessors are more free with their penitents, even nuns, than husbands are with their wives.” He went on to say, “the confessional-box is the daily witness of abominations which would hardly have been tolerated in the lands of Sodom and Gomorrah. ... the confessional-box is for the greatest part of the confessors and female penitents, a real pit of perdition, into which they promiscuously fall and perish.” (p. 86.)

Brother Chiniquy stated that, “Yes! Auricular confession is a public act of idolatry. It is asking from a man what God alone, through His Son Jesus, can grant: forgiveness of sins. Has the Saviour of the world ever said to sinners, ‘Go to this or that man for repentance, pardon and peace?’ NO: but he has said to all sinners, “Come unto me.” (TPTWATC, p. 81.)

There was another vice the confession-box produced, specially during WWII in Europe. Unethical priests, were used to extract confessions from those loyal to other than Hitler’s Nazi regime. This vital information, which should have remained confidential between priest and patron, was funneled back to the German High Command. Consequently, not only were many secrets revealed, but a great number of such confessing patrons became imprisoned, put to death, or had to run for their lives.

So, from the forgoing diversion from our subject, the reader can see how sinister the confessional could, and did, become during those terrible days of WWII.

Nuns of Catholicism

To begin, I must say the same for the Nuns of Catholicism as I said for the Priests, that I am not trying to stain or cheapen each and every one of them, there being many good Nuns whose hearts are pure and motives clean, and who are sincerely trying to perform a righteous service to their Savior, but who, also, are oblivious of their connections to past history. And although there are many good ones, there are also the dishonorable — God, alone, being the judge. As with the Priests, what is stated here is for historical perspective, and not to degrade those of pure intent.

Vestal Virgins

Besides a celibate priesthood, Semiramis developed a system of female devotees known as vestal virgins, later to be known by the Chaldean word as “Nun,” which stand for the “Daughters of Nimrod.” “In the religion of the Babylonian, the institution of the Nun was from the earliest times. As the practice spread, we can find that in Athens there were virgins maintained at public expense who were strictly coerced to single life; and in Scandinavia there were the priestesses of Frey, which was nothing more than an order of Nuns bound to virginity. In actuality, Nuns have no validity or authority from Scripture, and are a modern imitation of the “Vestal Virgins” of Pagan Rome; a throwback to the Babylonian religion who kept watch over the “sacred fires.”

Originally, though, their duty was to serve their god in the Babylonian priesthood, and part of that service was to “sexually” serve the unmarried priests and monks, since these men were not allowed to marry and have wives. This service was seen as a form of worship. Such service was said to keep the priests satisfied and happy in the priesthood. Also, history attests to the horror of countless abortions which arose from this immoral system. Even in modern times, countless bodies of babies have been found, and many such gravesites for the aborted babies of these Nun/priest relationships were found in the underground tunnels between convents and monasteries.

In 1932, a ghastly discovery was made in Madrid, Spain. Workmen digging on Catholic property uncovered hidden underground burial sites which were offshoots of a tunnel stretching from a monastery for Priests to a convent for Nuns. In these graves they found baby skeletons, supposedly from Nuns who had become pregnant.

Another discovery of the same sort was also found in Seville in 1934, and also in the Basque region of Northern Spain. Many more such grave sites were found, not only in Spain, but also in Rome. Doctors discovered that most of the babies died of suffocation. Needless to say, the people became outraged and exhibited contempt for papal power; an incident which set the groundwork for the Spanish Civil War which followed during the 1930's.

Tonsures & Halos

Another distinguishing mark of the priests of Babylon, later known in the Old Testament as Priests of Baal, was the clerical “tonsure.” The word, “tonsure,” means to cut or shave the head (pictured at right). This is an initiation rite in which the priest of Nimrod has the top of his head sheared bald, while the edges of the hair is allowed to remain as a ring around the head. This was done in honor to Nimrod who was also worshiped as the sun god. For this reason God forbade Israel to receive such a hair-trim. “Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard. ... They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.” (Lev. 19:27 & 21:5 respectfully.)

Upon ordination to the priesthood, the celibate priest goes through a ceremony of ordination, the first part of which is the “clerical tonsure.” Anciently it was the tonsure that was the visible inauguration of those who submitted as the priest of Bacchus. Concerning the tonsure, Hislop states, that, “It was indeed the “tonsure of Peter,” but not of the Peter of Galilee, but of the Chaldean “Peter” of the Mysteries. He was a tonsured priest, for so was the god whose Mysteries he revealed. ... Over all the world, where the traces of the Chaldean system are found, this tonsure or shaving of the head is always found along with it.” (TTB, p. 221.)

The Halo
The circling of the head with a tonsure represents the round circle of the sun, in honor of the sun god, Baal; and another sign of sun worship we need to look at is the halo. Halos are pictured as a luminous ring or a disk of light that surrounds an object. Webster's Dictionary describes a halo as the aura of glory, veneration, or sentiment surrounding an idealized person or thing. The golden and jeweled crowns worn by royalty is meant to signify their “divine right” to rule, but originally they were modeled after the halo; and it was the ancient pagans that originated this practice of using halos or “sun-disks” to signify the divinity of their sun god, be it the god, Ray, Mithra, or Baal, etc. Some people who worshiped the sun emulated its rays by wearing rings of feathers or leaves on their heads, and as we have discussed, many of the customs and icons of our world’s religions were adapted from earlier paganism.

From Wikipedia.org we get the following concerning halos: “Round “solar discs” above the head are seen in depictions of many deities of Ancient Egypt, including Ra and Hathor, and symbols resembling later halos, such as the sun cross, are found in many ancient religions, especially in connection with sun worship.” The PICTURE AT RIGHT is of Ra, with solar disk halo, dated before 1235 BC, and TO THE LEFT we have Leonardo da Vinci’s Benois Madonna, shown with a halo over both the madonna and the child.

Sun worship is what spawned the use of these sun disks in pictures and graven images. Halos commonly appear in so-called “Christian” religious art as a symbol of saintliness or divinity. The truth is that the halo did not come into Christian art until the third century at a time when pagan religions were suppressed and the halo fell into disuse among them, but the Catholic Church picked up on it. In the beginning, the Catholics only had the halo around their baby Jesus god, but by the fifth century, halos were used for the goddess Mary, Madonna and Child, angels and their saint gods. Renaissance artists loved to depict those that were “holy” with a halo, but I’m sure that most of them didn’t even know that the halo was originally a representation of the sun worship of Ray and Mithra, as is the round wafer-cake.

Anytime rays jut out from about the head of a person, whether it be in real life or in art form, it really represents either the gods, Ray or Mithra, even though some may try to call it the glory of Jesus. To THE LEFT is mosaic of Apollo with a radiant halo about the 2nd century AD. These figures of art were usually rendered in a pious way, with a halo, nevertheless, they were inspired by the tonsure rendered upon the heads of the Babylonian priests. So let's call it what it is: the halo represents the Sun gods, Ray or Mithra, both being foreshadowed by the very first sun god, Baal.

Image Worship

Both the Roman Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox church have icons and idols that are part of their worship. From the Roman church we hear: “From the very earliest days of the church there has been a tradition whereby images of our Lord, His holy mother, and of the saints are displayed in churches for the veneration of the faithful ... this practice of placing sacred images in churches so that they can be venerated by the faithful is to be maintained” (Vatican II). And from the 1563 Council of Trent we get: “The images of Christ and the Virgin Mother of God, and of the other saints, are to be had and to be kept, especially in Churches, and due honor and veneration are to be given them.” (Council of Trent, 25th sess.)

One convert to the Catholic faith justified the veneration of images in these words: “We can honor saints, but not worship them. Catholics do not worship anyone but God. Statues and icons are simply just that. Statues and icons. They are earthly visuals or reminders. Like the cross is for non-Catholics and Catholics alike. It's a reminder of Christ's sacrifice on the cross for us. Statues and icons are the same.”

This may sound okay on the surface, but let’s think about it for a moment. Doesn’t one realize that when they kneel down before a statue of Mary or some “saint,” their veneration is transferred to the one of which that statue is an image? How can one pray to a statue of a “saint” and truly believe the prayer is going to Christ? Realistically, it cannot be done, no matter how one tries to justify its practice. A prayer, or any sort of reverence or adoration, placed before Mary is, automatically, transferred to Mary, and to no other individual, not even God. Indeed, the honor rendered to an image passes to its prototype, and whoever venerates an image venerates the person from whom that image is a representation.

How does the Roman Catholic Church scripturally justify such a practice? Well, first, they delete the second commandment (Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image) altogether to justify their idolatrous worship practices; second, they break the 10th commandment (Thou shalt not covet) into two, making it the 9th and 10th commandments (9th: You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, and 10th: you shall not covet your neighbor’s house) to still show they have Ten Commandments. Just get a copy of both Bibles and check it out for yourself. The commandment against idols and images is totally ignored and even protested.

They say, “The Christian veneration of images is not contrary to the first commandment which proscribes idols.”(Catechism of the Catholic church.) In response to Ex.20:4-5 the church says “…to make honor the images of Christ our Lord, of His holy and virginal mother, and of the saints, all of whom were clothed with human nature and appeared in human form is not only NOT FORBIDDEN by this commandment, but has always been deemed a holy practice and a most sure indication of gratitude. This position is confirmed by the monuments of the Apostolic age, the general council of church, and the writings of so many among the fathers, eminent alike for sanctity and learning, all of whom are of one accord upon the subject.” (Catechism of the Council of Trent, p. 375-376)

The Apostles referred to are the same Apostles who wrote the scripture against such image worship, and yet the church ignores this fact and appeals to their council. Not only the Apostles spoke against idol worship, but the entire Holy Bible, from beginning to end, makes prohibition against having images for religious purposes, and bowing down before them is clearly banned as set forth in the Second of the Ten Commandments, and in numerous other passages of Scripture. (There are so many scriptures prohibiting the veneration of images, which should be well understood by the reader, that I will not take time to insult the reader’s intelligence by quoting them all, save maybe one or two as we proceed.)

Catholics justify themselves saying that they are praying to the spirit behind the statue, not to the statue itself. These statues or icons are of Jesus, Mary, or saints and angels, so that makes it okay. Right? Wrong ! There is more to this practice than meets the eye. I Cor. 10:19-20 says: “What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing? But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.” Paul states that the idol is nothing, just as Psalms 135 said. “The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak; eyes they have, but they do not see; they have ears, but they do not hear; nor is there any breath in their mouths. Those who make them are like them; so is everyone who trusts in them.”

The picture at right is the statue that the Catholic Church refers to as the statue of Peter, but is actually the pagan statue of Jupiter that was removed from the pagan temple called Pantheon in Rome and renamed Peter. It has eyes that do not see, ears that do not hear, and a mouth that does not speak. Also, a halo representing the sun god can be seen hovering over his head.

The true spirit behind every idol is a devil. Those who worship them will become like them, they become blind, dumb and deaf, just as the idol; meaning blind, dumb and deaf to truth, for God has given them the spirit of deep sleep to that which is spiritual. “For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes...” (Isa. 29:10.) People involved in Idolatry cannot hear the word of God, they become like the idol that can’t see or hear. So the Catholic unknowingly is praying to devils as he prays before an image made by men’s hands.

Nowhere do we see this practice in the New Testament, but we do have many warnings about it. Nowhere does God approve of any type of worship toward objects that are even of Himself, neither the tabernacle which housed His presence, nor the ark which had the tablets, were to be worshiped. Yet these were some of the most sacred objects used. And what of the ark of the covenant, or the bronzed serpent? Neither one of these were objects to worship. The bronzed serpent was used once, and when Israel later used it a number of times, they were punished. 2 Kings relates the following: “And he [Hezekiah] did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father did. He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan.” (2 Kings 18:3-4.) The very thing God had Moses make for the people to look upon to be healed, in time, became an idol that was kept venerated. God used it for a single event but the people kept it as a souvenir and as an icon of worship.

In Deut.12:3-4 Israel was told to break down their carved images and not to worship them. They were to be different from the nations around them. The reason is because God is Spirit and there is no image that can help lead one into His presence or help one in a worshipful activity. It actually leads them to the opposite. God knew the heart of man and that we are weak, always looking to the outward which destroys faith; true faith is not what one sees but comes from within.

Today we see from the Pope the promotion of a pagan religion, claiming that from these practices we can even learn from them. They do not understand that the ones who promote the anti-christ practice of image worship, finds unity with idolatry.

Closing Thought
As stated above, we were only going to briefly discuss just a few topics relating to this subject of modern Roman Catholicism’s connection to the old Babylonian religion. Pertaining to these items discussed, entire books have been written about some of them. My purpose in presenting those that I did is just for an introduction to the relationships mentioned between the Roman Catholic Church and early Pagan and Babylonian practices. As with the previous chapter, that which has been presented only echos back as a type and a foreshadowing of things that were to come. Hopefully, the reader will extract from this information the seriousness of the premises at hand; and if interested, or in doubt of the theses presented, perform a little duo-diligence and some Google-search on their own.

Study 4:
Rome Is Babylon by Bequeath

In the seventeenth chapter of Revelation John said that the woman “arrayed in purple” sitting upon a “scarlet colored beast,” the “great whore” and “mother of harlots,” is “Mystery Babylon.” (Rev. 17:1, 3-4.) And studying chapters 17-19, it should be obvious that Babylon refers to Rome.

Why, we might ask, is Rome referred to as Babylon when the city of Babylon is situated many hundreds of miles away over in Iraq? Is there any logical or historical reason why Rome should be referred to as Babylon? There is an answer, and one of them is that the name “Babylon” is not only the name of an ancient city, it is also a title. In his classic work, Dispensational Truth, Clarence Larkin traces this Babylon Mystery Religion down through history until it enters Rome. On page 140 he said:

“The city of Babylon continued to be the seat of Satan until the fall of the Babylonian and Medo-Persian Empires, when he [Satan] shifted his Capital to Pergamos in Asia Minor,...
“When Attalus, the Pontiff and King of Pergamos, died in B.C. 133, he bequeathed the Headship of the ‘Babylonian Priesthood’ to Rome. When the Etruscans came to Italy from Lydia (the region of Pergamos), they brought with them the Babylonian religion and rites. They set up a Pontiff who was head of the Priesthood. Later the Romans accepted this Pontiff as their civil ruler. Julius Caesar was made Pontiff of the Etruscan Order in B.C. 74. In B.C. 63 he was made ‘Supreme Pontiff’ of the ‘Babylonian Order,’ thus becoming heir to the rights and titles of Attalus, Pontiff of Pergamos, who had made Rome his heir by will. Thus, Julius Caesar, the first Roman Emperor became the Head of the ‘Babylonian Priesthood,’ and Rome became the successor to Babylon. The Emperors of Rome continued to exercise the office of ‘Supreme Pontiff’ until A.D. 376, when the Emperor Gratian, for Christian reasons, refused it. The Bishop of the Church at Rome, Damasus, was elected to the position. He had been Bishop 12 years, having been made Bishop in A.D. 366, through the influence of the monks of Mt. Carmel, a college of Babylonian religion originally founded by the priests of Jezebel. So in A.D. 378 the Head of the ‘Babylonian Order’ became the Ruler of the ‘Roman Church.’ Thus Satan united Rome and Babylon in One Religious System.” (Dispensational Truth, p. 140.)

The quote from Clarence Larkin, above, states that the seat of Satan’s worldly empire was first centered in Babylon, then it shifted to Pergamos, and then it was bequeathed to Rome. Pergamos (whose more modern name is Bergama, about 3 miles north of the river Caicus) was the resident dynasty of Greek princes founded after the time of Alexander the Great. It was usually called the Attalie Dynasty from its founder, Attalus, its first Pontiff-King. Pergamos was one of the first cities of Asia Minor that was truly considered “sumptuous” due to the splendor of its princes. This city boasted of splended temples of Zeus or Jupiter, Athene, Apollo, and Aesculapius. One of the seven churches of Asia was in Pergamos, and it was called “Satan’s seat” by John. This revelator wrote:

“I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. ...
“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches;... And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges; I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is:...” (See Rev. 1:10-11; 2:11-13, respectfully.)

John the Revelator was not the only Apostle to refer to Rome as Babylon. Reading 1 Peter we find that this disciple also considered Rome to be Babylon. Peter wrote, “The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you;...” (1 Peter 5:13.) Those who grasp Biblical history know that Peter was, at this time, writing from Rome, and he applied the name “Babylon” to that city. Karl Keating, one of those who likes to justify and excuse the Catholic Church, even said: “Babylon is a code word for Rome. It is used that way six times in the last book of the Bible [four of the six are in chapters 17 and 18] and in extrabiblical works such as Sibyling Oracles (5, 159f.), the Apocalypse of Baruch (ii, 1), and 4 Esdras (3:1).

“Other have said, ‘Eusebius Pamphilius, writing about 303, noted that ‘it is said that Peter’s first epistle . . . was composed at Rome itself; and that he himself indicates this, referring to the city figuratively as babylon.’” (Catholicism and Fundamentalism: The Attack on “Romanism” by “Bible Christians,” p. 200.)

In his expansive 549 page book, A Woman Rides the Beast, Dave Hunt points out the following concerning what could NOT be the Babylon of the end times:

“It is popularly taught that the woman [in Rev. 17 and 18] represents ancient Babylon revived....
“Ancient Babylon, however, even if it again becomes an inhabited and functioning city, could not possibly be the Babylon to which the writing on the woman’s forehead refers. Saddam’s rebuilt Babylon simply doesn’t meet the criteria John sets forth....
“As much hated as feared by his own people, one day Saddam will be deposed, as eventually happens to all tyrants....
“Whether that happens or not, there is no way that this city, rebuilt after lying in ruins for more than 2,000 years, could be mistaken for the Babylon which is the major subject of Revelation chapters 17 and 18.” (A Woman Rides the Beast, pp. 51-52.)

Although many churches have headquarters in a particular city, only one city is, singularly, the headquarters of “A” church. The Mormon Church, for example, has headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah. That city is not known only as the center of that church — there’s much more to Salt Lake City than the LDS Church. But not so with Vatican City, the heart of Rome and pagan Christendom, in general.

The author, David Hun, also said of Rome and Babylon:

“Some suggest that the Vatican will move to Babylon in Iraq when it is rebuilt. But why should it? The Vatican has been fulfilling John’s vision from its location in Rome for the past 15 centuries. Moreover, we have shown the connection to ancient Babylon which the Vatican has maintained down through history in the paganized Christianity it has promulgated. As for ancient Babylon itself, it wasn’t even in existence during the past 2300 years to ‘reign over the kings of the earth.’ Babylon lay in ruins while pagan Rome and later Catholic Rome, the new Babylon, was indeed reigning over kings.”

As stated above, the name “Babylon” is not only the name of a city but also a title as well. The woman upon the beast is the Roman Catholic Church, and the beast is that great city built upon seven hills or mountains — Babylon. (Rev. 17:9.) Only one city is known as the city of seven hills — ROME! There is only ONE city that passes John’s description of Babylon — ROME, and more specifically, VATICAN CITY!

From our study we know why Peter said that Rome is Babylon. He was most likely mindful of the legal fact of Rome’s inheritance, that city having received the title of Babylon by bequeath; and John referred to Rome as Babylon from that same awareness. So Rome, and the Roman Catholic Church housed at Vatican City in particular, is truly Babylon by inheritance of title and position in the paganized religious world.

Study 5:
Decline of Imperial Rome:
Rise of the Papacy

To continue our discussion of the modern Pagan church, we need to take a brief look at late Roman history and see how its decline developed into what is now the Roman Catholic Church.


After two glorious centuries of Roman prosperity and highly cultivated society (A.D. 13-180), the following three centuries seem rather incredible. Many historians over the years, including Gibbon, in that grand historical work, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, have often struggled to come up with the exact answer. But no single explanation will entirely suffice. We can only conclude that many elements of weakness entered which were not apparent as long as everything went smoothly, but which combined together crippled the Empire. Some of these many elements were, as they are today in the US of A: prosperity, greed and graft; consumption instead of production; political despotism; immorality and vice; economic mismanagement, to mention only a few. By the time of the reign of Diocletian (284-305), the economic, social and political ills had brought mighty Rome to its knees.


Diocletian’s rule marks a turning point in Roman history. His ruling methods were rather dictatorial, as was that of the future President George W. Bush of the United States. Emperor Diocletian: (1) assumed all power in the state and freed himself from all constitutional restraints; (2) lessened the old forms of representative senatorial government by reducing it to menial tasks; (3) became the sole source of all law and authority, considering himself above the law; (4) was the divine ruler demanding slavish obedience from his subjects; (5) demanded all citizens that once delegated political authority become mere subjects; (6) separated the military from civil and senatorial control, which elements were excluded from declaring war; (6) divided up the administration of the Empire into smaller factions; and (7) reduced the old patriotic and loyal legions to foreign border skirmishes, while employing a more mobile force of barbarian mercenaries of the most uncivilized type; among other things. Of course all of this totalitarian approach demanded much money, so his subjects experienced a harsher tax burden with a resulting economic disaster.


As can be seen by the accompanying map, at the height of Roman influence the Empire stretched from Spain and Great Britain on the West to Mesopotamia and the Caspian Sea to the East, and from North Africa at the South to Germany and the Rhine River to the North.


Constantine the Great
Like Nero and other Roman Emperors of the pagan Greco-Roman kind, Diocletian had thousands of Christians killed in an effort to suppress their faith, ultimately to no avail. For Christianity became the Empire’s favored religion under the charismatic Constantine the Great (306-337), who took power as a Western emperor in 306, a year after the abdication of the throne by Diocletian (pictured left).


By 312 there were four rival emperors to the throne, one of which was Constantine. Maxentius and Licinius were the two he had to contend with, these two also being great persecutors of the Christians at the time. Constantine was the least powerful of the four, so he made an alliance with Licinius and also sought the support of the Christians.


During a battle with Maxentius for the throne, Constantine prayed to his sun god for a sign. He claimed that he saw a cross appear in the sky. With this sign Constantine said he also saw the words, EN HOC SIGNO VINCES, meaning, “in this sign conquer.” This was just the thing he needed to energize his efforts and resulting conquest. He swiftly marched into Italy and met Maxentius a few miles from Rome and completely destroyed his army, making Constantine sole emperor of the West.


Constantine was the last of those who could truly be considered a Roman Caesar, and like other Caesars before him, he worshiped false gods. One of them was Mithra, or Mithra Solis Invictus, meaning “unconquered sun.” Mithraism is about the worship of the sun, a religion that was a carryover from the old sun god, Baal. But what about his claim to Christianity?


The cross that Constantine claimed to see was NOT the traditional looking Christian cross as familiar in Christendom today; it was, most likely, an ankh, a symbol of pagan worship. The ankh (pronounced “ahnk”) is a symbol for the Egyptian god Osiris. An ankh (pictured right) is a cross which looks like the capitol letter, “T”, with a circle perched on it’s top. It actually represents the sun atop a cross. It was one of the most important of the Egyptian hieroglyphic characters that stood for the word which means life. It was a sign of royal and divine authority, and its holder had the power of life and death in his hands.


Latinists interpreted the symbol as a crux ansata, or “cross with a handle.” It combines two symbols, the tau cross, meaning “life,” and the circle, meaning “eternity”; both together meaning “immortality.” Also, it represents the male and female symbols of the two principal Egyptian deities of Osiris and Isis, thus the union of heaven and earth – the sun fertilizing the earth. It symbolizes sex, fertility, and reincarnation. In more recent times, the ankh has been used by witches in spells and rituals involving divination, fertility and health.


The Origin of Constantine’s Christianity
Once, in a fit of rage and jealousy, Constantine murdered his own son, Crispus, and later his wife, Fausta, perished under his hand. To pacify a guilty conscience, he turned to his pagan priests. But he found no help there. Then he turned to an unnamed Egyptian who introduced him to Christianity.


This unnamed Egyptian, who had come from Spain to Rome and was intimate with the ladies of the court, met Constantine and assured him that the Christian religion was able to absolve him from guilt. He claimed that it promised every wicked man who was converted to it immediate release from all sin. Constantine easily believed and embraced the religion the man offered him. However, he was never baptized until on his deathbed; and even then, some claimed that he had already passed when he received the rite.


Constantine Consolidates His Hold
While Emperor Diocletian divided the Empire mainly for military and administrative reasons, the Greek East happened to form a natural geographical, cultural, and economic unit. Although Constantine’s conversion seems to have been the result of a somewhat confused religious conviction, Christianity gave the Empire more cohesiveness than the ill-assorted cults we call paganism could ever have done.


Constantine’s so-called conversion to Christianity was simply a political maneuver to unite his Christian and pagan subjects under a form of government that embraced a mixture of both philosophies. The Emperor realized that persecuting the perpetually thriving Christians was useless. To help consolidate his rule, he legalized Christianity with the Edict of Milan of 313 for the toleration of ALL religions. Now all the pagans could be considered Christian. Constantine was smarter than Roman Emperors before him, in that, instead of persecuting Christians, which proved to be a losing cause, he legalized it and permitted Pagan believers to be baptized as Christian believers. (If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.)


Each city and province within the Roman Empire was presided over by one holding the office of Bishop, which held a combination of political, civil and religious duties. In 321, Constantine proclaimed himself to be “Bishop of Bishops,” and established what was called “the venerable day of the sun” (a Mithraic holy day) into a so-called Christian holy day. This day was the first day of the week which was called SUN-DAY — a day to worship the sun god instead of a day to worship the Son of God. His Edict stated, “On the venerable Day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed.” (Constantine, March 7, 321. Codex Justinianus lib. 3, tit. 12, 3; trans. in Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, Vol. 3, p. 380, note 1)


In researching the true Sabbath of the Christian, history becomes rather confusing. And even though the Sabbath subject is not the purpose of this short paper, suffice it to say, that, some Christians of the times still adhered to the seventh day Sabbath as presented in Exodus 20, and others recognized the first day of the week as their Sabbath, it being the day the Lord rose from the grave and called “The Lord’s Day.” What we do need to understand, though, is that Constantine’s Edict was promulgated throughout the Roman Empire, not as a Sabbath day of rest, or the Lord’s Day, as many suppose. He did NOT change the Sabbath to Sunday, he merely created the first “Sunday closing law.” As stated, some Christians had been worshiping on the first day of the week since apostolic times, while others continued worshiping on the traditional seventh day. However, Sunday keeping was adopted by the Roman Catholic Church, and the Protestants continued to follow suit.


Eventually, Constantine had a pagan temple called a basilica built on one of the seven hills of Rome for the worship of his sun god; the name of this hill being, Vaticanus. And with Christian tenets being merged with Pagan, it wasn’t long before Christianity emerged as the most prevailing religion in the Roman Empire.

Due to Diocletian’s dividing up the Empire, the Eastern portion was becoming more divided from that in the West. The Eastern part of the Empire at this time was ruled by Licinius, and the rift between East and West was growing ever stronger. Not wanting to grant any more tolerance for Christianity, and after some dispute, Constantine defeated Licinus in 323. He, reuniting the entire Empire, both East and West, once again putting the whole Empire under his rule.


The relation between church and state, and a valid definition of dogma, deeply divided the Empire. Arius, a priest of Alexandria, denied both the absolute divinity of and humanity of Jesus Christ. His arguments were logical, but would have deprived Christianity of its basic significance. Both his supporters and opponents felt his beliefs to be of vital importance and a rift began among Christians.


Religious disagreements in the church that tended to destroy its uniformity were regarded as threats to the Empire. For such occasions, the emperor called together an “ecumenical” council. The term, “ecumenical”derives from the Greek word oikoumenos, meaning “household of God.” In an attempt to solidify his Empire, both politically, civilly, and religiously, Constantine called an ecumenical council of bishops to a meeting in A.D. 325 at Nicaea, the ancient city of Bithynia in Asia Minor, the modern name being, Isnik. One of the purposes of this first council, which had representatives from all parts of the Empire, was to solve doctrinal disputes, and it was here at this council of Nicaea that the first official welding together of pagan and Christian doctrine took place.


Along with condemning the Arians, the council drew up the Nicene Creed, which asserted the full divinity and humanity of Christ. The Creed not only defined orthodox belief in opposition to Arianism, but also provided a brief statement of basic Christian doctrine, which has been accepted with minor variations by most Christian churches.


After winning the Roman throne, Constantine was awarded the title of “Pontifex Maximus” –— one who rules over other gods; however, he never used the title for himself, but he did assume the role of spiritual father of the Christian Church which, as stated, also incorporated pagan philosophies. In doing so, he was actually laying the foundation of Roman Catholicism. The meaning of the name Catholic – universal – declares the union of both church and state, not the separation of the two. In fact, the union of church and state, with the church being the most influential, was the norm from the days of Nimrod of old Babylon. The separation of the two is of a more recent concept as exemplified with the founding of the United States of America.


Constantine’s ego was so great that he, like other potentates before him, wanted a city named after himself; and of course he couldn’t rename Rome. Having delegated Sylvester as bishop of Rome at the Council of Nicaea, Constantine packed up and went off in 330 to Byzantium, which was Northwest of what is now modern-day Turkey. There he established a new capital city in the East which helped strengthen the tie between the East and West. This city received the new name of Constantinople (named, of course, after Constantine), but today we know it as Istanbul. However, his stay was not too lengthy, having died seven years later in 337.


Pope Damasus I
Pope Damasus I (A.D. 305-384) was a contemporary of Constantine, and pope from 366 to 384. When Pope Liberius died in 366, his son Ursinus was expected to become the next Pope. Ursinis was supported by the clergy and laity. However, the upper-class of Christian nobility supported the candidacy of his brother Damasus. Since neither side were willing to give up their position, then both Ursinus and Damasus were elected as Popes at the same time.


Consequently, a series of riots, battles, and assassinations resulted, with Ursinus finally being banished in 367. Emperor Valentinian had to intervene to suppress the riots.


During an Imperial Trial before Emperor Gratian in 383, virtually all the bishops signed a warrant against Damasus accusing him of the very worst of satanic crimes. He cleverly escaped the charges and had all his bishops murdered.


It was mostly because of Damasus I that Christianity was later adopted as the religion of the Roman state. Damasus is claimed to be the first Pope to refer to Rome as the “Apostolic See” and convinced the Imperial Court to recognize it as a legitimate court of appeal for the entire Western Christian Church.


Not only has Damasus I been accused of murder and adultery (despite having not been married) in his early years as pope, but his reign is notable as a reign of supreme terror as the Roman Christian Church rose to an all consuming power against anything and anyone who stood in its way. Some historians have nominated Damasus I as one of the ten most evil men of the Fourth Century.


Barbarian Invasions and the Fall of Rome
The strongest characteristic of those of the Roman Empire of the fourth and fifth centuries was apathetic surrender. While the condition of the Empire grew steadily worse, the great majority of the population had lost all individual liberty and hope of improving their economic and social position. This loss of hope and confidence was accompanied by the spread of mystical religions originating in the Middle East, which offered personal comfort in this world and the hope of a happier life after death. For the majority of the people of the Empire, the void was filled by mystery religions, which had spread through the East and began to enter the West. Thereafter, aided by the unification of the Mediterranean world under the Empire, they spread rapidly through the western provinces.


The most important of the mystery religions were those of the Great Mother (Magna Mater) from Asia Minor, of Isis from Egypt, and of Mithra from Persia. The cult of Magna Mater was the oldest and least spiritual. Her cult, included such things as shaven and tonsured priests, colorful ritual, solemn processions, and sacramental ceremonies. It became especially popular among women. Does the reader know of any Christian religion that has any of these traits?


Mithraism, on the other hand, appealed more to men, and temples of Mithra were to be found in every army camp. As the god of light and sun, Mithra fought against the powers of darkness and evil and aided men in their struggle to avoid the temptations of the flesh and to pursue a virtuous life, which would be rewarded by a happy existence after death. The celebration of Mithra’s birthday was on the twenty-fifth of December; it being the date which announced the rebirth of the sun as the days began to grow longer. So December 25th was celebrated as the birth of the sun god, Mithra, later to be changed as the birth of the Son of God, the babe of Bethlehem.


At the death of Constantine, both the Roman Senate and aristocracy were still predominantly pagan, and most of the school teachers carried on the old traditions. Many of the highest social and intellectual classes wanted a return to the ancient gods of Greece and Rome. Julian, a nephew of Constantine, was one of the most ardent of these. After he came to the throne in 361 he disowned the Christianity he had been forced to profess and attempted, in vain, to revive all that was best in paganism; earning him the nick name, Julian “the Apostate.”


Over the many years, all of this disunity and apathy among the people, along with the unwise decisions made by their leaders, continued to weaken the already declining Empire and gave more opportunity for barbarian invasions.


Beyond the borders of the Roman Empire lay the dangerous world of the restless and warlike German tribes. Time and again, since before Julius Caesar, Roman legions had to expel these barbarian invaders. But now the Empire was weakening as a result of the general decline of Roman economy and morality, and good judgment. In 376 there was a mass invasion of the Visigoths, whose example inspired various tribes all along the northern border. Within a century the Western Empire was submerged beneath the onrushing flood of these early German, or Teutonic barbarians.


The Greek historian, Zosimus, blamed Constantine for the Fall of the Roman Empire. Anti-Christian historians say that the Christians were the cause of the Fall of the Empire because they refused to serve in the Roman army. But Zosimus wrote:


“And Constantine did something else which gave the barbarians unhindered access to the Roman empire. By the forethought of Diocletian, the frontiers of the empire everywhere were covered, as I have stated, with cities, garrisons and fortifications which housed the whole army. Consequently, it was impossible for the barbarians to cross the frontier because they were confronted at every point by forces capable of resisting their attacks. Constantine destroyed this security by removing most of the troops from the frontiers and stationing them in cities which did not need assistance, thus both stripping of protection those being molested by the barbarians and subjecting the cities left alone by them to the outrages of the soldiers, so that henceforth most have become deserted. Moreover, he enervated the troops by allowing them to devote themselves to shows and luxuries. In plain terms, Constantine was the origin and beginning of the present destruction of the empire.” (Zosimus, New History, Book II, p. 33).


For centuries the increase in population had driven German tribes to seek less populated lands, which pushed the southern tribes against the Roman frontier. Being Constantine’s fault or not, the swift invasions of the early Germans totally devastated the political structure of the once mighty Roman.
At about the same time, in the Northwestern regions around the North Sea and the Danish peninsula, the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes were invading Britannia, later was to become known as England. But among the many who pushed into the Roman frontier were the Vandals, Ostrogoths, Franks, Alamanni, and Visigoths, to mention a few. It was the Visigoth king who marched into Italy and sacked Rome in 410, and later, in 455, the Vandals took to sacking Rome.


The date of 476 is a significant one. In that year a German general, named Odovacar, deposed the last emperor of Rome, Romulus Augustulus, known as “the little emperor.” Odovacar took the government into his own hands, but left the throne vacant, making him the independent ruler of Italy. So history can record that Rome fell in the year A.D. 476, as that Empire in the West had officially come to an end.


Rise of the Papacy
It wasn’t until during the fifth century that the Bishop of Rome was elevated to the position of supremacy in the Catholic Church, comparable to that of the emperor of Rome, and became known as Pope. By the middle of that century, Leo the Great (440-461) was able to exercise the full authority over the church. His authority was given sanction by a law of Valentinian III, conferring upon him jurisdiction over all the bishops in the Western Empire. It is at this point in history that we may justly use the term, “Pope,” as being not only head of the Christian faith, but over the political and civil Empire as well. So from Leo’s time on, Western Christendom looked to Rome for leadership as the Pope occupied the position and had the power and influence as an Emperor of Rome. In Ferguson and Brunn’s historical work, A Survey of European Civilization, they said the following:


“As the old Pagan Roman Empire decayed, there grew up in its midst a new spiritual empire, which in course of time was to replace it in the West and to carry on in western Europe the Roman tradition.... When that Empire disappeared, the church, so far as was possible, took its place; the popes took over the universal authority of the emperors; and the episcopal hierarchy filled the void left by the withdrawal of the imperial administration. Throughout the Middle Ages the unity of the Roman Catholic Church was the bond that held together the various peoples of western Europe.” (p. 87.)


As we continue our study, we must keep in mind that even though the Catholic Church is a religion, and a religion is metaphorically represented as a “woman” in scripture, the Pope is also an Emperor of an empire, and a king, kingdom, or empire is metaphorically represented by a “beast,” or “horn.” Recall in Revelation 17 verses 3 and 7 that John saw a woman sitting on a beast; the woman represents the ecclesiastical church while the beast refers to the political arm of the church.

The Little Horn
Let’s now turn to Daniel Chapter 7 (verses 1-8, 19-21 and 23-25) to see how one of his prophecies just might have been fulfilled in Roman history. The reader must understand that the beasts of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Chapter 2 are the same beasts of Chapter 7. The first seven verses of Chapter 7 speak of four beasts, which we know as being Babylon (head of gold; 605-538 B.C.), Medo-Persia (breast and arms of silver; 538-331 B.C.), Greek (belly and thighs of brass; 331-168 B.C.), the fourth beast being the Roman Empire (legs of iron; 168 B.C.-A.D. 476); and that there would be 10 kingdoms with feet of parts iron and clay. We must also remember that the term “horn” refers to a king or kingdom. Let’s now cover the points made in the verses we’ll consider, and then go back to Roman history and see how it might all fit. In outline form we have:


1.) The fourth beastly kingdom, Rome, was diverse from the other three, in that it didn’t just subdue other nations and rule over them, but it absorbed much of the culture and ways of those conquered, and also influenced them. It was strong with iron teeth and nails of brass, and did brake in pieces and devour the whole earth along with the first three beastly kingdoms (vv. 7, 19, 23). Rome, is represented by two “iron” legs, representing both the Western and Eastern branches of the Roman Empire. This “iron” beast has teeth of iron which are strong, tears to pieces, and devours.


2.) This fourth beast, Rome, had 10 horns, which we know as representing kings or kingdoms (vv. 7, 24). When the Roman Empire fell apart, there were ten tribes or kingdoms in the geographical space of the old Roman Empire. These ten kingdoms, or horns, were:


1. Alamanni (Germany)
2. Franks (France)
3. Burgundians (Switzerland)
4. Suevi (Portugal)
5. Anglo-Saxons (Britain
6. Visigoths (Spain)
7. Lombards (Italy)
8. Vandals (North Africa)
9. Ostrogoths (Italy/Austria)
10. Heruli (Slavic)


3.) A little horn came up among the ten previous horns, and plucked or subdued three of those horns (vv. 8, 24). This little horn was the Papacy, and the three of the ten that were plucked up were the Vandals, Ostrogoths, and Heruli. These three kingdoms were followers of Arianism, the religious philosophy Constantine attempted to squash at the Council of Nicaea, and would not submit to the unification under the pope, nor accept the Christian church as it then stood. These three were destroyed by Emperor Justinian, of Constantinople. Justinian believed that the Pope should have ecclesiastical supremacy as “head” of all the churches in both the Eastern and Western sectors of the Roman Empire. However, it wasn’t until 538 that he freed the Papacy from its last Arian opponent, the Ostrogoths, who were at that time ruling Italy. Justinian allowed Pope Vigilus, Bishop of Rome, to claim authority over the papal chair and all of the Empire, both East and West.


4.) The little horn or kingdom had eyes like that of a man, a mouth speaking great things against the most High, and his look was more stout than the other beastly kingdoms (v. 8, 20, 25). This horn is the new Popeish/Emperor of the now NEW Roman Empire, who speaks great things against Christ and His saints. His “stout” look most likely is due to the vast wealth, display of pomp, and intimidating influence before all the world.


Now the strange beast that John saw in Revelation 13:1-3 and 14, was a combination of the four beasts of Daniel Chapter 2. The head that was wounded was the Roman Empire. “And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death [by the sword]; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.” (See vv. 3 & 14.)


This deadly wound was the “fall” of the Roman Empire as its political structure took a deadly blow by barbarian invaders. It was healed, however, when Justinian overthrew the barbarous hordes; giving rise to a more powerful Papacy. Even though the Roman Empire had died in 476, the church was still the cohesive force that held the people together. So as 476 is a significant year being the demise of the old Roman Empire, so is the year 538, it being the actual date of the beginning of the new Roman Catholic Church as it exists today. Until 476, Catholicism was only a religious appendage of the old Roman Empire, but in 538 it became a NEW Empire all its own as the world worshiped it, or surrendered to its powerful influence. It was then, as it is now, the predominant Christian religion in the West, a combination of both church and state. With the church being the woman, and the state being the beast, then we have the woman upon a scarlet colored beast, as found in Revelation 17:3.


5.) This little horn or kingdom made war with, wore out, and prevailed against the saints of God (vv. 21, 25). As Jesus came with love, grace, forgiveness, and healing, the Roman Catholic Church came with rage, vindictiveness, lust, and murder in her heart. It is estimated that throughout the hundreds of years of the inquisition, more than a hundred million souls were mercilessly tortured and slaughtered for following the precepts of Christ rather than Catholic dogma. The beast made war with the saints and prevailed. And even though we live in a supposedly more civilized world, their hearts have not changed, only their methods. For example, Adolf Hitler, a devout Catholic who was put into power by the Papacy, slaughtered more than six million Jews, among thousands of other innocent people, during the Church’s modern inquisition. About it he said, “As for the Jews, I am just carrying on with the same policy which the Catholic church has adopted for fifteen hundred years,... (The Nazi Persecution of the Churches, by J.S. Conway, pp. 25-26 & 162; Smokescreens, p. 23.)


6.) The little horn or kingdom thought to change times and laws (v. 25). This subject is covered in a couple of other studies showing how the church changed the Law of God by deleting the second of the ten commandments (prohibiting the making and worshiping of graven images), and splitting the tenth commandment into two separate parts so she could show that the church still had ten commandments. The Papacy changed time by creating the Gregorian calender and was responsible for the creation of the international dateline.


7.) The saints shall be given into the hands of the little horn or kingdom until a time and times and the dividing of time (v. 25). Here we are told that all, even the saints of God, will fall under the influence of the beast for a period of 1260 days, or years depending upon the interpretive view taken. Some feel this prophecy has already been fulfilled; many believe it is yet to come; and others think that it has already occurred, but as a type of that which will happen again in the near future. We will not dwell upon this subject as that study is for another time.

The Little Horn Wounded by the Sword
“And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded [by the sword] to death; and the wound was healed [and the beast] did live.” (Rev. 13:3 & 14.)


The French Revolution, and the European war that broke out as a result in 1792, ultimately led to the temporary destruction of the “Little Horn” and the redrawing of the map of Europe.
The first affliction of the Little Horn by the sword was Napoleon’s seizure of papal territories, and of proclaiming the Roman Republic. Pope Pius VI refused to recognize the new state, so in1798 Napoleon sent his general, Berthier, to Rome who arrested the Pope and had him imprisoned, where the Pope eventually died. The new Pope, Pius VII, operated under Napoleon’s new laws that removed from him all former political or civil supremacy.


On July 22, 1806, Napoleon gave Austrian diplomats an ultimatum: either the German Emperor abdicate his throne by August 10th of that year, or else war would resume. Francis II, then last of the Emperors of the Catholic’s Holy Roman Empire, drew the logical conclusions, and on August 6, 1806, published a declaration abolishing the Holy Roman Empire as a response to the Napoleonic threat. Accordingly, members of the Confederation published a paper declaring that, in their view, the Holy Roman Empire had ceased to exist.


Just after peace had been restored from the Napoleonic wars, in 1814, Pope Pius VII restored the Order of the Jesuits, which had been abolished by Pope Clement XIV in 1773. Not only that, but with Napoleon now gone, the Papacy took back political power over what was called “the Papal States.”


When Pius IX ascended to the Papal Chair in 1846, the Jesuits tightened their grip on him and his pontificate. It was at this point that the Jesuits usurped Papal power, placing the Superior Jesuit General in power OVER THE POPE, which power and authority continues to this day; the White Pope being only a figurehead, while the Black Pope is the real power behind the throne.


As far back as 1814 the Austrian army of liberation sent by Napoleon I, was largely welcomed by the local Italian rulers. Italy, at the time, was not a united nation as it is today, but made up of smaller kingdoms. At that time they had little or no sense of national identity but depended upon historic alliances to hold together their small kingdoms. Most of the people who considered themselves “Italians” were found in the Papal States, which at that time, divided the Italian peninsula into north and south. However these “Italians” were mostly papal intellectuals wedded to the Pope’s temporal sovereignty with very little true feeling for national identity.


Years later, between the Revolution of 1848-49, and the fall of Rome in 1870, the Vatican controlled actual soldiers and not just an army of priests. Most of the territory of the Papal States welcomed the proclamation of the new Kingdom of Italy on March 17, 1861, but Pope Pius IX clung doggedly to Rome and its surrounding vicinity, but from 1860 to 1870, the Papal forces managed to keep the Italian General, Garibaldi, from entering Rome.


On November 16, 1849, Pope Pius IX’s summer palace above Rome was sacked. Disguised as a simple priest in cassock and a pair of large spectacles, Pius fled to the safety of the neighboring kingdom of Naples. From this position of security, Pope Pius IX cast condemnations against, what he called, the “outrageous treason of democracy.” Only with the help of French military, and a loan from the Rothschild’s, did Pope Pius IX plan to return to the Vatican a year later.


The story of the army of the Papal States in the middle 1800's, and the conduct of Pope Pius IX in his desperate struggle to retain the temporal power of the papacy, and to prevent Italian unification, should have a chilling relevance for us today. Brave Italian statesmen and Generals were excommunicated and consigned to eternal damnation by the Pope for simply being patriotic. The new King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel II, and his subjects, were similarly treated. The decree Non expedit, of February 1868, forbade Roman Catholics to take any part in the political life of the new Democratic state upon the threat of excommunication.


Believe it or not, up until 1870, the United STATES flag was BANNED from the city of Rome and the Papal States. The States were run by priests and police, and flying the United States flag could get you a long prison sentence. And having a copy of the United States Constitution in your possession meant a trip to the dungeons of the Inquisition, or maybe a trip to the guillotine.


Before 1870, the city of Rome and vast surrounding territories were misruled by the Papal dynasty for over 1,000 years. And in July of 1870, Pope Pius IX (at right) declared himself “infallible”; thus beginning the infamous “infallibility of the Pope” doctrine. To help accomplish his goal of defeating the Protestant German provinces, and converting them back to Roman Catholicism, Pius IX called upon Catholic France.


In August of 1870, France’s Napoleon III declared war on Prussia (the Franco-Prussian War from July 19, 1870 until May 10, 1871), with Otto von Bismark heading up Prussia.


At this time, the French army was already greatly weakened by Napoleon's disastrous intervention in Mexico. In 1866, France’s ally, Austria, had already been defeated by Prussia in what was called the Seven-Weeks' War between France and Prussia. During that small war, the Prussians used new tactics learned during the U.S. Civil War such as rapid railroad transportation of troops to the front and the newly invented telegraph. So, to help protect France from Prussia, the French troops of Napoleon III, who were garrisoned at Rome, had to be withdrawn. This left Rome virtually undefended, whereupon the Italian patriots rushed in and declared Rome the capital of a United Italy.


It was on 21 September 1870, that Pius was finally informed that the last of his troops had been disarmed, that the papal flag had been lowered on the Castel St. Angelo and that his army and state were no more. And despite all the threats of Pope IX, the Italian government moved its headquarters from Florence to Rome on July 1, 1871.


Emperor Victor Emmanuel, the first king of the new united Italy, was very superstitious and dreaded the Pope's excommunication, but he overcame his fears and entered Rome on July 2, 1871. So Italy became united again, as one country, for the first time in over 1,000 years.


The Pope was FURIOUS and threatened the new government with eternal damnation in hell. But the sword had struck its deadly blow, wounding the Little Horn once again. But yet it still “did live.” (How the beast was brought back to life is covered in another study.)


In 1887, Jesuit General Peter Beckx, the power behind Pope Pius IX, ordered the assassination of King Victor Emmanuel II. The king was a military man and preferred spending most of his time out of doors. All his life he never suffered from ill health. On January 5, 1878, the king became suddenly ill while visiting Rome for the New Year celebrations, and within 2 days he was dead at the young age of 58 years. This execution was nothing new for the Jesuits, who have been assassinating world leaders for centuries.


Jesuit Retribution Against Germany and Italy
The thorough German victory brought about the final unification of the German Empire under King William I of Prussia. It also marked the downfall of Napoleon III of France. The Jesuits greatly admired the military skill of Prussia, and so they used their own seductiveness and infiltration of Germany to bring about World War I and II which devastated both Germany and Italy, being nothing more than REVENGE for the loss of the Papal States, or the Little Horn, in 1870.


Rise of the Eastern Church
As we very briefly discussed the history of the old Roman Empire, its demise, and the rise of a new Roman Catholic Empire, there is an aspect that we did not cover. As we discussed, at first the Roman Empire was divided into the Western part and the Eastern part. Many years later, the Eastern portion of the Empire, due to cultural, language, value, political, and religious differences broke from the Roman Church in the West. The seat of the new church in Constantinople became the head of a new religion in A.D. 1054, known as the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is also known as the Greek Orthodox or Russian Orthodox, depending upon the nation or nations in which its people live.


One Concluding Thought
It must be remembered that for more than 200 years, Rome was the world’s greatest power. She had gathered up the gold, property and treasures of nations conquered. So after Constantine pulled out of Western Rome for Eastern Constantinople, he left behind a great store of wealth. The new Bishops of Rome, the upcoming Popes, actually became the wealthiest men upon the earth, as is the Pope of today. The most guarded secret down through the hundreds of years since the first Pope is the fact that the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, IS STILL the Emperor of Rome. And, AS ALWAYS, he still uses that vast wealth to seek the domination of the world, and to bring all mankind under the iron yoke of the Papacy.